York Festivals

York is called the 'city of festivals', the most famous of which takes place every four years when modern day 'guilds' - unions, colleges and civic groups - perform the York cycle of mediaeval mystery plays. Other years, there are festivals of early and late music, Vikings, science and food.  At the end of November is St Nicholas' Christmas Fayre, followed in December by the Festival of Angels, when ice sculptures decorate the narrow streets of old York, and of course Christmas is celebrated with carols in the Minster. Throughout the year there are continental and farmers' markets, brass band concerts, horse race meetings, model railway exhibitions and a host of smaller specialist meetings.  There are always things to do in York.

These are a few pictures from the last cycle of mystery plays.
		Each guild pulls a cart with the setting for its play through the streets of York, stopping now and again to give a performance.
Here is God warning Noah of the coming flood.
The three kings come to the nativity - here outside St Williams College - and Christ is tempted in the wilderness.
These musicians from the Early Music Festival double up as players at one of the performances.  Note that they use the traditional early instruments such as the sackbut.
The Viking Festival takes place in February.  All over York you will find people dressed as Vikings with helmets and shields.  Here are a few.
		Even the Bentley's German guests joined in!

Is food your interest?  Then come to York in late summer when the food festival is in full swing.
		There are dishes to sample from all over the world.  This mammoth paella from Spain was delicious.
Maybe you prefer meat.  What about German sauasges?

Although Halloween isn't an important festival in much of Britain, in October many shops in York like to decorate their windows with witches and ghosts.
		Betty's tea shop displays are famous in York. This scary castle has wizards and ghosts peering out of it. All around are spider and cat biscuits, ghost cakes and pumpkins.
Imaginative Icing cake shop on Lendle also has a fine witch stirring her cauldron.
		The Whitby jet shop, not to be left out, displays its strings of jet beads on the arms of a pumpkin-headed scarecrow.

After the hour change, as the nights draw in, York holds its annual Illuminating York festival.  In 'About York' you can see part of the Minister lit up a few years ago by Patrice Warrener.  Below are some of the 2008 illuminations.
Some pictures were thrown onto the ruins of St Mary's Abbey in Museum Gardens to the accompaniment of music and poetry.
Others were projected onto the facade of the Yorkshire Museum.

St Nicholas' Fayre is a highpoint of the year, coming as it does just before Christmas.  People arrive from all over the north to buy presents, delicacies and decorations.
Then a couple of weeks later, in early December, ice sculptures appear in the the alleyways around the Minster.  This a water bird, possibly a crane, amongst the ice reeds.